Mamoru Chiba Week Prompts
by purinsesu-sereniti
Summary: Some amazing tumblr users have organized a whole week dedicated to Mamoru Chiba, my favorite dork. This is the collection of prompts I've written for the week long event! *Please note, this is ongoing and I will not post any here that have not yet been posted to tumblr*
1. Protect Prompt

When Usagi had a nightmare, Mamoru did his best to comfort her.

There were still, to this day, things she didn't open up about. Memories too painful for her to speak of, but he could see the anguish reflected in her sapphire eyes. When she would wake, trembling and crying, he'd open up his arms to her, holding her until the nightmare faded from her mind. If it ever truly did.

On this night, Mamoru came to bed much later than he usually did. When he slipped into bed beside Usagi, she had already been asleep for a few hours. He took a moment to look over her, golden hair spread out beneath her head like a halo, one leg tucked over the blankets as she slept. The moment he had pulled the blanket over himself, he heard her; the softest whimper, the quiet little cry that told him so much more than her words ever could. He reached out a hand beneath the blanket and she trembled beneath his touch.

And then suddenly she was awake, rising up so fast from the bed sheets he thought she may fall over her side of the bed. "Usako..." His calming vocals reached her panic-stricken mind and she turned to look at him, her blue eyes wide and wild in her face. "It was just a dream..." He murmured as she dove into his embrace, her body quaking with the force of her tears. "Tell me." His softly spoken prompt caught her attention and she sat up, peering into his eyes for several long moments before she opened her mouth and began to speak.

Her words wove images of sacrifice and heroism; moments he had missed, moments he'd not been there to experience were coursing through his mind with her every word. Those times when the ones she loved most were ripped from her side, torn down before her very eyes. Silence descended and Usagi turned away from him, shoulders curved with the weight of her pain, of her suffering. Mamoru felt his own heart twist, recognizing the feelings that she was so deeply feeling. The feeling of inadiquacy, the feeling of being unable to protect those you loved the most. He had felt them himself so many times before, had he not? "How can I protect them all?" She whispered, pivoting back to face him, her eyes sparkling like gems, so full of unshed tears. "What if I'm not strong enough next time?"

Mamoru reached out, taking both of her hands in his, amazed as always by how perfectly they fit within his grasp. "There's no one stronger, there's no one better to protect this world." She shied away from his touch, his words not having the affect they usually would have. And so his hands were cupping her cheeks, drawing her gaze back to his as one of her hands fell into place over his. "Besides, you don't have to do it alone." He went on softly, his encouraging words beginning to draw her back. "I'll always protect you.. And this planet too." A single tear trailed the curve of her cheek and he swiped it away with his thumb, a small smile falling into place upon his lips. "I'm never going to let you do it alone." He drew her in, his lips finding hers without a moment of hesitation. "Get some rest," he urged as he helped her back into bed, drawing her into his arms and pulling the blankets back over them both. Mamoru knew she was asleep within minutes, drifting back into what he could only hope would be a much better sleep than before. He brushed a kiss to her temple, reminding himself of what he had just told her. He would always protect her. He would always protect her and this planet they loved so much, the planet of their rebirth, the planet that they would someday rule together.

He would never let anyone take away from him what he had. He would always, always protect what he loved. And that... That was her.


	2. Orphan Prompt

He was an orphan.

He could not grasp such a word, could not comprehend the meaning behind it. He could not fathom what it would mean for his future. And what more... He could hardly even remember them.

His head hurt.

Mamoru lay in his bed, turned onto his side so he could face the wall. Try as he might, he couldn't bring his family's faces to his mind. It was hard to be sad when he couldn't even remember his mother or his father. He thought he might remember the warm touch of a hand, the air rushing through his hair, the glimmer of blue eyes in the sunlight... But, then again perhaps that was all just a dream.

It would be hours still before a nurse or doctor came to check on him and he was fine with that. Kind as they were, he hated seeing such pitying looks in their eyes when they were in his room. One nurse in particular had taken to sitting with him at lunch time, even staying long after her shift had ended for the night, but even she looked at him with those eyes... Eyes that felt pity, that felt bad for him, the little boy who couldn't even remember his dead parents.

Without realizing it, tears had begun to stream down his cheeks. He sat up, angrily swiping at his cheeks as if he meant to erase all memory of them. Why was he crying... He didn't even know that! His frustration was mounting. His mind was a whirlwind, hundreds of thoughts racing through his brain like a tornado and he closed his eyes against them in hopes they would simply all vanish.

"Why are you crying?"

The soft, little voice brought him back, silencing his every waking thought. Mamoru turned to look in the doorway where a little girl stood, a girl a few years younger than he. Her blonde hair was twisted up into the strangest style he had ever seen, but her bright blue eyes were enough to draw him in completely. "Why are you crying?" She asked again, this time as she approached his bed. Mamoru could see the front of her pink jumper was dirty, as was her knees as if she'd been crawling in the dirt somewhere.

"I'm not crying," he said indigently , swinging both his legs over the edge of the bed, looking down at the girl with his own dark blue eyes. She fixed him with her gaze, wide open and inquisitive, though her lips were curved with a frown. Despite having only just met him, she knew he was lying, and he knew she knew it. "I don't know," he finally said with a sigh, tearing his gaze away from hers, his head bowed. "I don't know who I am anymore." He couldn't even say for certain that Chiba Mamoru was his name- it was just what the doctors had told him. "I'm scared." Tears filled his eyes and he closed his eyes against them, hands curled into fists atop his knees.

And that was when he felt it.

The slightest touch of a hand, the flutter of a pulse against his as she slipped her hand into his, her head laying lightly against his legs. He stared down at her golden head, too shocked to a say word, too shocked to even make a move. "It's okay," she said with childlike innocence, her smile radiant as she looked up at him. "You don't have to be scared anymore." And for whatever reason, Mamoru felt like he could trust this little strange girl, because looking into her eyes gave him hope. That despite the fact he was utterly alone in this world, there was still some good in it. That despite his future, he could be hopeful, he could find his way.

And maybe, just maybe he wouldn't have to be alone.


	3. Loneliness Prompt

Loneliness hung over him like a cloak.

It was heavy, it was cumbersome. He felt it often, but it never seemed to get any easier when it hit him as it had this day. As he lay there in his bed, Mamoru wondered if there was even any point of going on. There was nothing in this world for him left, so what meaning did his life have? A flash of a face had him sitting upright, the memory of a voice catching him off guard there in his room. _Who..._ He looked around, as if he expected someone to be there, but there was no one. Of course there was no one, he was alone after all.

Rising up from his bed, he took to the shower, wondering if it was possible to drown himself in the spray long enough to forget the darkness clawing at him. It wasn't. As he toweled himself off and dressed in the same rumpled clothes from yesterday, he forced himself to think about anything but how he felt inside. The weather, his schoolwork, the girl from the arcade... His mind drifted back to that girl, with her sapphire colored eyes and golden hair he could spot from a mile away. He recalled how she had looked at him the last time they had met, with her eyes full of sorrow despite the smile on her lips. He'd never forget that look, he knew, he'd always remember how she had looked at him that day.

Moving into the living room, he saw his school books piled on the table, his last few days school work ignored. Then he looked into the kitchen, where he knew there was no food to be eaten. When had he gone to the store last? Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, torn between returning to bed or turning on the news when he heard it. _Knock, knock._ It was so soft that at first, he had thought it was only his imagination. _Knock, knock._ But there it was again!

He turned to the door, staring at it as if he'd never before seen a door, so surprised was he to hear that soft little knock. Crossing the room, Mamoru didn't even bother to glance out the peep hole and instead opened the door, revealing to him the twin-tailed blonde standing there in the hallway. She looked nervous, that was the first thing he noticed despite the smile she offered him as soon as she saw him. "Odango..." The word slipped from his lips before he could stop it, a familiar feeling washing over him as he looked into her indigo eyes. "How do you know where I live?" He asked and immediately her cheeks became stained with a blush, the look making his heart skip a beat. "Stalking me, huh?" He adopted the cool, snarky tone he knew she must have always associated with him, but he just couldn't give it his all.

"I'm not stalking you," she retorted, hands on hips, her head held high as if she considered herself queen of the universe. "I've been here before," she continued, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, looking up at him with softer eyes than before. There it was, that sad look in her eyes, as if she had lost someone she truly loved. Mamoru felt his own heart ache, as if he too had lost someone he loved. _I've been here before..._ Her words filtered through his mind and he wondered if that was true. So much of his life was nothing but a blank space, he wouldn't be surprised if she actually had. "Can I... Can I come in?"

Her softly spoken question brought him back and Mamoru nodded, side stepping to allow her entrance to his apartment. As he closed the door, she was already making her way across the room, trailing her fingertips across every surface. She stood with her back to him, silent and still in the center of his apartment and for a moment Mamoru could remember her standing there many times before. Her presence in his apartment was enough to cheer him immensely, rousing him from the foggy darkness he'd been living in these last several days. For the first time in days, he suddenly had some sort of clarity. "Why..." The words trailed off as she turned around, lost to him as he gazed into her eyes. _Why are you here... Why do you make me feel like this... Why do you look so sad...?_ So many potential questions that he could have asked, so many answers he'd loved to have gotten. It was only then, as he stood there before her that he realized the look in her eyes: loneliness. He had seen such a look many times before, but in his own two eyes.

"I hadn't seen you in a few days... I just wanted..." She blushed beneath his gaze and looked away, as if uncomfortable by his stare. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She looked back to him and to his surprise, he felt a smile curving on his own lips. Her own features blossomed with a grin and she seemed to relax there before his eyes. "This place is a mess," she observed as she glanced around his apartment. Mamoru arched a brow, shocked that she would know him well enough to know that the slight disarray to his place was unlike him. Without a word, she was on the move again, stacking his school books and papers into a neat pile on the table. When she had finished, she turned back to him, pinning him with her gaze. "When did you eat last?" She asked, as if she already knew it had been days. His silence was answer enough and she was stomping back towards him, one finger jabbed right into his chest. "You should never avoid a meal!" She admonished, shaking her blonde head as if he'd done something truly terrible. The girl went past him, beckoning him to follow behind her. When he didn't move, she looked at him from over a shoulder, a smile toying with her lips. "Well, come on, let's go eat."

For a moment longer, Mamoru stood frozen in his spot, eyes focused on the blonde standing there before him. But then something familiar, something comforting washed over him and he could not help but to smile. It was as if he'd done this before.

And so he followed her out the door and into the hall. Then down the elevator where they made small talk and she laughed, a sound he found he'd never grow tired of hearing. Then out into the sunshine of the summer day, down the street and towards the little place he knew she liked so well, considering how much she was there. Mamoru realized then as he walked down the street with her, he felt happier than he had felt in days. In weeks. For the first time in what felt like forever, he didn't feel the stinging sharp pain of loneliness. No, for the first time in days, he felt happy. He felt part of something.

Even if it only was getting lunch with the blonde girl from the arcade.


	4. Home Prompt

Coming back to life was something he'd experienced before, multiple times really. But it never seemed to get any easier. The clawing back to the surface, the rising up from the darkness... But he could feel her, he could hear her... She needed him. As always, it was her voice that drew him back from the darkness of death, as always, it was her hand that reached out for him to take.

When he sat up in his crystalized coffin, Endymion realized something was not quite right. She was not there beside him as she always had been before. In fact, he was utterly alone within that room, but it was a room he knew well. When he had last been within this room, it had been in ruins... So what had happened?

The memories were rushing past him; Sailor Chaos' initial attack that had left them reeling, her second one that took Mars when she had protected Serenity. And then one by one, her senshi had fallen until there had been no one else left. Endymion felt a pang in his heart, for if she was not there at his side, then where else could she have been? No... He would never believe it, he would never believe that his beloved Serenity was dead and gone. Rising up from the coffin, he found use of his legs once again and then was gone, pushing into the corridors of the palace, looking for her.

And that was when he felt it, the draw of her aura.

He rushed from the palace, out into the garden, a place he had spent hundreds of hours with her and Small Lady. His heart was pounding hard inside of his chest as he stepped out into the garden, everything about it as perfectly in place as it had been before Chaos' attacked. Everything was... Resurrected by something or someone. And then he knew. Serenity had won, she had done this. Serenity had, somehow, defeated Chaos and returned everything around her to what it had once been. But such a power... Even Serenity would never have been able to survive such a display. So did that mean... He felt his heart turnover as he turned a corner, the center fountain of the garden there before his eyes.

Then he saw her.

She was facing the fountain, her long silver hair dancing in the slight breeze that blew, but she was turning to him the moment he began to approach. The sight of her took his breath away; he had never seen her in such a fuku, nor with such a look to her face, but it was Serenity. It had seemed she had morphed yet again, this time into someone completely new. He knew who this was before him of course, but he had never thought... He had never thought he'd truly lay eyes upon this soldier form of hers.

"Endymion..."

Her soft vocals drew him back to reality and he instead focused his gaze upon her, taking in every inch of her new fuku. All white with a splash of gold, aside from her skirt which held a single stripe of every color that represented one of her senshi. Senshi it seemed that had yet to awaken in their own crystallized tombs in the palace. "You did this... You saved us..." He murmured, looking around, gesturing towards the unbroken palace, towards all of Tokyo that had been brought back to life. "Sailor Cosmos..." He watched as she tilted her head to the side, silver hair a waterfall across a shoulder, her indigo eyes reflective in the sunlight. It became apparent to Endymion that as Cosmos, she had far surpassed herself as even the Queen.

"I did what I had to... To save all of you." She extended out her staff which began to softly flicker, the silver glow bright enough to rival that of the moon. Somewhere, inside of the palace, her senshi had begun to awaken. Endymion knew that to become Queen, she had to give up her life as a senshi... So what had triggered this sudden transformation into a solider? When he met her eyes, it was then that he understood; he could see the memory of it reflected there in her eyes; their child had died. Nothing else could have triggered her to throw aside her crown. "I couldn't let it end this way." Her soft words were full of anguish, but her eyes full of hope as she felt the awakening of their daughter inside the palace. "They're coming." A small smile fell into place upon her lips and she raised her staff one more time, its glow instead wrapping around her own body. When it faded, gone was her fuku, replaced by the gown he'd always known her to wear.

And then she fell.

Endymion rushed to her side, catching her a moment before she hit the ground. "Serenity..." He whispered, icy cold fear gripping at his heart as he cradled her to his chest. But then her eyes were fluttering open, her lips curving with another smile. "You're so reckless," he murmured into her hair as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "But you saved us all. The people, the palace! You even restored it." He heard her laugh and when he looked down, tears were trailing the curve of her cheeks, those azure eyes of her bright in the sunlight. Back then, when everything was falling apart, he hadn't been certain they would ever see this life again. He hadn't been sure anything would ever be the same again. But there they were, together again, all because of her.

"Welcome home, Endymion."

That was right, he was home again.


	5. Harvard Prompt

Standing there in the airport felt unreal.

He had always wanted this, had always wanted to further his studies and see new places. But always, there in the back of his mind, Usagi was there. To be without her for only a day was one thing, but for a whole year? It was unimaginable. Yet, there he was, staring out the big windows, feeling very reminiscent of the last time he had stood there. The last time he had tried to go to America, to Harvard.

He hadn't even boarded the plane last time though, he reminded himself, recalling the very moment he had felt the chill. A shudder had raced through his spine the moment he had pressed his lips to her knuckles, the twinkle of her new ring catching his eyes. And then... There had been nothing. No white light to walk towards, no voice to guide him on this path... Instead, where he went there was nothing. Nothing at all. The last thing he could recall was the sight of her face, bewildered as his body vanished, leaving nothing behind but the Star Seed within him.

But that was then and this was now.

Besides, nothing like that would happen today. Not when they had finally achieved the peace they'd so long sought. He thought of Usagi, of everything she had to bare up until now, and he felt his heart twist; but then he thought of her now, radiant and full of life, more so than ever before... And he felt warm inside. She had a way of doing that, his Usako did. Speaking of, she was late.

Mamoru glanced around the terminal, knowing he didn't have much time left before he'd have to head through security. His plane was due to leave in an hour and he certainly wasn't going to miss it. As he shifted his bag from one shoulder to the other, he heard it, the soft call of her ever familiar vocals. "Mamo-chan..." He turned to face her, standing just beyond his reach, her smile warm and inviting. Mamoru felt his stomach lurch and for one single moment, he didn't think he could go. How could he? How could he leave her? How could she let him go? "Sorry for being late," she chuckled at herself, chiding herself for not leaving the house ten minutes earlier, as she had done several times that hour. "I couldn't decide what to wear."

Of course that was it. Of course she was late for that reason, that stupid, simple, wonderful reason. Mamoru could not help but to reach for her, drawing her into his arms so quick that the bag she held slipped from her grasp. "I love you, Usako." He murmured against the shell of her ear, relishing in the feel of her skin against his, if even through the cotton of his tshirt. He held onto her as if there was nothing else in all this world and truthfully, there wasn't much else. When he drew back, he held her at arm's length as he comitted to memory every inch of her, from her sapphire eyes to her tiny feet, recalling dozens of moments there in that instant. "This time... When I get back..." He trailed off, remembering those very same words he'd tried to tell her two years before, words he'd never gotten a chance to say. Words he'd practiced all morning in his head to ensure he got them just right. "When I get back, let's live in a house with a white picket fence. Let's live a normal, wonderful life before everything changes again." He of course meant Crystal Tokyo and how her ascension to queen of the world was but four years away now. "Let's have jobs we hate and let's be late on our rent." He watched as her features morphed, tears pooling in her eyes while she smiled upon him, nodding along to every word that he said. "I love you," he repeated, drawing her back into his arms for one final embrace. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the PA system announce the call for his flight and he knew he had to go. "I'll call you when I'm there." She gave a single nod and he watched her swallow, putting on the brave face he knew she was trying hard to maintain. "Don't be sad, Odango." His use of her old nickname brought a huge smile to her face and she laughed through her tears, wiping them away with the back of her hand.

This time, when Mamoru boarded his plane to America, it was without fears, it was without worries. He would land in America and he would call her to tell her he was there and he was safe and that he missed her already. Everyday he would go to class but he would think of her. Everyday he would slip away, to the quietest corner of campus to write her a letter that told her everything he had seen, everything he had experienced. Everyday he would miss her and love her and remind himself of the future that they had still yet to find. And everyday, the echo of her voice would bring a smile to his face...

Have a safe trip, Mamo-chan...!


	6. Dream Prompt

_"...Endymion..."_

 _The soft voice calls to him, pulls at him, draws him ever closer to the figure in the distance. He can see the reflection of the stars in her eyes as she turns to face him, hands clasped before her as she speaks again. "Endymion..." That name... He knows it belongs to him, somehow he knows that she is calling to him. Her hair is so long, longer than any hair he's ever seen before... It billows about her as she calls out to him, her hands now on the balcony's railing as she dares to lean over its edge. "You must help me..."_

He wakes with a start, breath catching, heart pounding. _That dream again,_ he thinks as he rises from his bed, wiping the sweat from his brow as he approached the window. Looking out across the moonlit city, Mamoru wonders if this dream means something. It was not the first time he'd had it that week, nor would it be the last. _That girl... She's so familiar._ But no matter how hard he tried, Mamoru couldn't put a name to the voice or a face to the glimpses he caught. All he could truly recall was the soft pitch of her voice and how her eyes had shined in the starlight.

Returning to his bed, Mamoru sighs as he pulls the blankets back over himself, his mind whirling with thoughts of the girl. He had been dreaming of her over the last several weeks, ever since the day he'd bumped into a twin-tailed blonde on the street, the very same one that had rushed by him a few more days on his way to school, always looking like she was late for something. He closes his eyes and drifts back off, wondering if he'd ever come to know the truth behind the dreams...

 _She's rushing towards him, her arms outstretched as she slips so easily into his arms, fitting against him as if she'd always been meant to fit there. Her name is there on his lips, but he can't quite get it out as she squeezes him tight, her face buried into his chest. She's crying softly, her voice muffled as she tries to tell him something. He holds close to her, the warmth of her body comforting, familiar even, and closes his eyes. He leans down, lips brushing lightly against hers and he feels her yield to him with the softest of sighs..._

When he wakes from this dream, it is nearly evening and he cannot believe he slept so late. On his stomach is the book he'd fallen asleep reading, _Gems, Minerals, and Everything You Need to Know,_ while the other three were stacked on his bedside table. Rising up with a groan, his mind drifts back to the dream, this one so very different from all the others. He pulls the same shirt on from yesterday and makes his way into the living room, fully prepared to make use of what was left of the day, only to find himself immobilized...

He can hear her, the silent beckoning of Sailor Moon.

All else is forgotten as he rushes from his apartment, knowing that the young soldier calls out to him, though she does not even realize it. But when she is in trouble, he feels it deep within himself, and to her side he goes. She was on his mind more often than late, with her sapphire colored eyes and infectious smile, and Mamoru often wonders how she fairs after her battles. Tonight she is joined by her two new comrades and he feels better knowing there is someone else on her side. When the battle is over, he watches as she leaps excitedly into the air, her enthusiasm catching on with the others. The three girls chatter triumphantly as they fade from sight, not even needing him that night, for which he feels dejected. He likes his conversations with the heroine.

But then she has gone and so has he, returning to his apartment as the moon hung high in the sky above Tokyo. Sleep is the furthest thing from his mind and so Mamoru takes up his books, flipping the first one open to begin to read. As he always does, he reads about gems, about minerals, about crystals. Trying to find out anything he can about this mysterious crystal the girl from his dreams is seeking. _The silver crystal..._ It is almost as if he knows what this is, but he simply cannot place it.

When he finally does fall asleep, it is at his desk, draped over his book as if it were his pillow not a book borrowed from the library. As he drifts off, Mamoru thinks to himself of Sailor Moon, remembering the way her hair shines in the moonlight, remembering how she had looked in her moment of triumph over her enemy. It all reminded him of something, of someone... But as always, he can't remember who.

 _He can see her, far ahead of him, her back to him. Her hair dances around her as he approaches and its only then that she revolves on the spot to face him. Her face is shrouded in shadow, but he can clearly see the sapphire glow of her eyes as they spill over with tears. "Please, Endymion..." She whispers so softly, so brokenly that the pang within his own heart is fierce. In her hands are clasped something golden and she extends them out, as if she means to give it to him. He reaches out his own hands to take it from her, the weight of the locket heavy in his hands. "There's no time left..."_

The sunshine is what wakes him from his slumber, still there at his desk. He sits up, blinking as the dream courses through his memory. What had she given him? He rises up and something falls from his lap to the floor with a solid _thump._ Thinking its another book, Mamoru reaches down to pick it up, only to find its not a book at all. Shock takes hold of him as he picks the locket up off the floor, its weight in his hand as heavy as it'd been in his dream. Flipping it open, a light rises up from it, a soft melody playing while the crescent moon rotated around and around. He rubs sleep from his eyes, thinking perhaps this was still but a dream, but it is not, its real. Mamoru closes the locket and looks around his apartment, as if he thought someone would be there... How could such a thing appear so suddenly? He supposes stranger things had happened though, so perhaps it was best not to question it. Pocketing the locket, he turns back to his desk when he feels it, as he always does whenever she needs him.

Suddenly even the locket was forgotten, as everything else usually was in such a moment. There was no room in his brain for anything else in a moment such as this, when he knew he was needed. His drive to protect her, where it came from he couldn't say, but it was there and he could never ignore it. His want to be beside her was stronger than anything else has ever been.

Sailor Moon was calling to him.


	7. Locket Prompt

Though he did not visit this room as often as he might have, its path was still yet familiar to him. He wished he could blame his lack of interest in the room could be blamed on his busy schedule, but in truth, he avoided it like the plague. Inside that room held memories he most definitely wished he could forget.

But, that day, the room seemed to call to him... And so, against his better judgement, he informed his stewards he would be taking an afternoon to himself. The palace was a flurry of activity these days, due to the upcoming Juuban Festival, one thing Serenity had not been able to give up from her days as Tsukino Usagi. No one would miss him, that much he was certain of. He walked the quiet corridors and found himself face-to-face with the white ornate doors, doors that opened with a gentle push, doors that swung closed behind him with a solid thud.

The room was, as most of the rooms in the palace were, white and spacious. Against the eastern wall was a wide, eight panel window that sunlight streamed in through, brightening the room. Across the western wall were several pedestals, each one holding an item very different from the first. Endymion slipped across the room, coming to stand in front of one item in particular, the sunlight bouncing off its golden surface. His fingers brushed across the gold, its surface bright beneath his fingertips. It had been a long time since he'd last touched such a thing, since he'd last even thought about it really. It was funny how once important things got lost in a lifetime of change.

He could recall every memory with that little star-shaped locket. He could recall the weight of it in his palm, he could remember the heat if it that day when he was under Beryl's control. He could remember the grief in her eyes as she held it out for him, softly begging him to let her help him. Begging him to remember just who he truly was. He could remember the warmth that had spread through him when after her soft urging, he had placed his fingers against the gold. He could remember the way she had cried when she cradled him close to her body, knowing he was hers again.

But that was not all he could remember.

Endymion remembered the bruises... The injuries that seemed to span the entire length of her body. And that was when he had realized just what he had done that day. Despite the cloud hanging over his mind, he knew those same hands that held her had been at her throat. That the sword sheathed at his side had drawn her blood. How could he live with himself? But then everything had happened so fast- Beryl attacked and he had done the only thing that seemed right: he protected her. At the cost of his own life, he had saved her, and had broken her heart all over again. They hadn't known one another long back then- that had been his biggest regret then.

He tightened his grip on the locket, the memories tearing at his soul, reminding him of the things he had done to her then. Endymion knew the past was the past, but there were moments like this that the guilt took control. To know with his own hands he had caused her harm... To know with his every move, he'd hurt her... And what was worse, that had not been the last time. He felt pathetic, standing there in his sea of memories, and the well worn feeling of anxiety was rising up within him. To this day, he still felt unworthy of being by her side. So many times he had failed in protecting her... Why did he deserve to be hers?

"Endymion?"

The soft voice caught him and reeled him back into the present; he turned towards the door and Serenity was there, leaning against the door frame, her indigo eyes finding his. "Serenity..." The syllables of her name were familiar and comforting on his tongue and he could do nothing but watch as she came towards him. Pushing away from the door frame, she let the door close behind her, coming to stand just before him. "You had lessons with Small Lady," he reminded her, as if his world was not falling apart around him, and she smiled that knowing smile, her hands reaching for him.

"She's with Mercury," Serenity said softly, her hands taking his, opening them to reveal the golden locket. "What are you thinking, Endymion?" She rose her eyes back up to his, a very different look in their depths. Her skin was warm against his and he closed his eyes a moment. In that moment, their lives tumbled past his eyes, every moment from that time when they'd been frightened teens, when they hadn't known the way of the world they so fiercely protected. Back to the time when they had been strangers falling in love, to the time they lost each other all over again. When he opened his eyes, she still stood there before him, and he realized only then he'd been speaking everything his heart had ever felt.

"This locket... It's a reminder of what I did back then." He said softly and he tried to turn from her, but she held fast to his hands. When he met her eyes, he found they were full of tears, and he blinked against a wave of his own. "When I see it, I see you... I see you on that day, when I..." He shook his head, trailing off, unable to even finish the sentence. The memory of it all was almost too much for him to bear, even hundreds of years later. It was as fresh in his mind as if it had happened only yesterday.

"Have you forgotten what the locket really is, Endymion?" Serenity's soft voice broke into his thoughts and he looked up, his surprise evident. Serenity reached out, cupping his hand with one of her own, the other gently prying the lid of the locket up. At once, a glimmer of light began to shine and the softest of melodies began to play. "This locket is a symbol of our love- it transcended time to find you to give to me, as I had given to you a lifetime before." Endymion recalled that too- when lifetimes before, Serenity had given him the locket on the balcony of the Moon Palace. "Fret not, my love," she smiled upon him and Endymion felt his heart swelling. She did not reprimand him for living in the past, nor judge him by the demons that still yet tormented him. No, instead she calmed him with her soft words and warm skin, bringing him just as much joy as she had in the beginning.

"You're right..." He murmured, holding the locket up, its melody forever ingrained in his mind. "I still yet remember that night on the roof..." He was speaking of when the locket had first fallen from his pocket, only to be picked up by Usagi. That had been so many years ago, before they had even come to know one another's true identities. He smiled then, recalling her from back then, frightened but determined to protect her friends. "I remember everything." His arms snaked around her, drawing her against his chest, the star locket between them, its melody singing on. "Thank you..." He whispered, his lips brushing against her earlobe, her soft breath catching in her throat. "For saving me, like you always do..."

When they slipped from the room a few minutes later, Endymion felt the weight of the locket inside his pocket- for years now, he had tried to ignore that piece of his past. He had tried to forget that it had ever even happened... And in doing so, he'd forgotten what the locket had truly symbolized: her. It had always been about her, about Serenity, his Usako. From that moment on the balcony a lifetime before, when she'd been the Moon Princess and he her forbidden earthly lover. To the moment he'd dropped it only for Sailor Moon, Usagi, to pick up and keep close to her heart. To when she had saved his soul with it that day in the Dark Kingdom. In every instance, it had always been his connection to her, and she had reminded him of that. And so, he'd slipped it into his pocket, to carry with him as a reminder of the woman he loved with all of his heart.


End file.
